Palestinian municipal authorities in the central West Bank city of Salfit declared a state of emergency after Israel’s national water company of Mekorot completely cut off water supply to the city.

Factories have been shut down due to the water shortage while locals have been forced to pay for water brought in large tankers for household use.

Every summer Israel implements a policy of water cuts against Palestinian communities to meet the increased demand for water in settlements.

Even without the cutbacks, the amount of water supplied to Palestinian communities is much smaller than the water available to Israeli settlers in the neighboring settlements and falls short of the amount recommended by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO).